A year on the allotment: May 2016

I think May's weather could be described in one word, and that word would be 'changeable'. The end of April saw hail and snow in many parts of the country. We had to hold off planting lots of things down at the plot due to the cold weather.

Then, from out of nowhere came something of a heatwave. Suddenly we were able to eat our evening meals outside on our newly upcycled cable reel table. As soon as the supermarkets stocked up on charcoal and flip flops, the heavens opened and we had days of wet weather.

The one good thing about warm and wet weather is the plants love it. Alongside the plants we want to grow come the plants we don't particular like, aka, the weeds. I seem to have spent quite a few hours pulling out couch grass this year. I hate the stuff. You only have to leave a tiny bit of root in the ground and it sprouts back up all over the place.

We also have some stonking dandelions on the plot. Magoo loves their sunny yellow flowers and when she says 'I've picked a pretty flower for you Mummy', I almost start to like them. I put this one into the buttonhole of her cardigan and took a quick photo. I think even the humble dandelion can have its moment in the sun...

We haven't got lots of things to harvest at this time of year, but we have had our first taste of allotment rhubarb. This particular batch came from a neighbour's plot because they couldn't eat it all. It was beautiful stuff, much bigger than ours, so I took an armful home with me. I had it baking in the oven with brown sugar and finely chopped fresh ginger within a hour of picking it.

In my post "Five ways an allotment makes family life better" I talked about the community aspect of owning an allotment. I love the way fellow allotmenteers are often happy to share their crops and knowledge with each other.

Another plant that's growing away happily is mint. The smell of crushed mint leaves is right up there as one of my favourite scents. I've been grabbing handfuls each I visit the allotment. It's great for chopping up and adding to plain yogurt to make a zingy salad dressing. We also made Lamb Koftas at the weekend to cook on the barbecue. You could really taste the allotment mint coming through in the cooked Koftas, it certainly doesn't lack flavour. If you'd like to try this recipe, grab it quick before the BBC 'mothballs' 11,000 of their online recipes

As you can see I always try to find the classiest container to keep my mint in...

We've been really busy with planting this month. All the spuds are in now. We also planted broad beans, peas and sunflowers from seed and they are all coming up. The peas look a bit moth eaten though. An allotment-neighbour says the pidgeons really love to nibble on the pea shoots. I need to get some bird scarers set up pronto. There lots of great ideas for upcycled plastic bottle wind spinners online, this one from Instructables is good.

I also had plans to make a scarecrow last year and put together a Pinterest board of my favourite ideas...some are very elaborate to say the least.

Another good thing we've discovered this month is a place to source used coffee grounds. My husband is a Support Worker and often visits the local branch of Coffee#1 with Service Users. He noticed a sign saying 'free coffee grounds for your garden' a little while ago and he's been bringing home a steady supply ever since. We used it to mulch the strawberries and they look incredibly perky this year - obviously keen on the caffeine hit. It's also great stuff to add to compost bins because of the high nitrogen content.

I haven't got many photos of Magoo enjoying the plot this month as she had a nasty accident in the playground at school last week. She ended up having to go to A&E to have her nose glued and butterfly stitches applied. She has looked a sorry state for a few days, but is healing quickly now. It wont be long before she's back to climbing on top of the compost bins at the allotment and giving me heart failure everytime she slips off.

Plans for June include getting the courgettes and butternut squash in the ground. We also have runner beans and dwarf beans to go in. Hopefully I will have made some bird scarers and the peas will look a bit more healthy. We're also going to try growing Brussel Sprouts for the first time this year. Obviously we wont be eating them until the Winter, but allotments are all about planning ahead...

This week I'm linking up with...

"How Does Your Garden Grow" over on the beautiful fableandfolk.com

"Country Kids" over on www.coombemill.com

"Making Home" over on www.mrscraftyb.co.uk

"Happy Days Linky" over on www.quitefranklyshesaid.com and www.whatkatysaid.com

"Home Etc" over on www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk and mummyofboygirltwins.com

Gardening in March: confessions of a seed hoarder

I love this time of year. The first hints of Spring are starting to appear. The sun feels warmer on your face, new shoots are appearing and I get a chance to rummage through seed packets.

My trusty Mr Men tin sits on the shelf for most of the Winter. It's only in late February, early March that I dust it down and have a look at the masses of packets I've gathered over the years. There's all sorts in there, including sunflowers, cucumbers, salad crops and wildflower mixes to attract the bees. There's also lots of home-dried seeds from plants I like the look of when I'm out and about. I dry them in paper bags over the Winter. If I'm feeling particularly organised, I might even label the bags with what's inside.

I 'borrowed' this tin from Magoo a while ago and she seems happy for me to use it for my seeds. I think it reflects my serious attitude towards gardening...or maybe that should be 'winging it' attitude towards gardening. I'm not Little Miss Perfect...in fact I'm almost definitely Little Miss Busy, which leads me to be Little Miss Scatterbrain most of the time.

Anyway, I'm nothing if not ambitious when it comes to seed planting. The Spring always makes me want to grow tons of different things. In reality, come June or July, I'm usually growing my favourites. Things I know will survive on semi-neglect.

These include flowers such as:

- Nastursiums

- Calendula

- Petunias

- Cosmos

- Geraniums

On the allotment we usually stick to:

- Masses of potatoes

- Wig-wams covered in runner and french beans

- Beetroot

- Garlic

- Onions

- Parsnips

- Courgettes and squashes

- Strawberries

As per usual I've ordered loads of seed catalogues and this year I'd like to grow something new. Hence the carrot seeds. I'm hoping to grow them with Magoo in a pot at home. I've always been put off growing carrots because of the fly they attract. I hate using chemicals, so only like to grow things that are pretty pest free. Anyway, we're going to give the carrots a whirl and see what happens.

Magoo also wanted a homegrown pumpkin for Halloween. Last year we started growing them too late and had nothing to carve in Autumn. This year we'll try and be more organised. Famous last words...

We found a small local nursery that sells strips of vegetable seedlings last year. They worked really well on the allotment. I don't have a large greenhouse so I can't grow loads of things from seed. I'm happy to let someone else do the tricky germination bit and buy the seedlings to save on time and space on our crowded windowsills.

Wish us luck with the carrots...

I'm linking up with 'How Does Your Garden Grow' over on the beautiful mammasaurus.co.uk

'The List' over on youbabymemummy.com

'Making Home' over on www.mrscraftyb.co.uk

November on the allotment: sunshine, sunflowers and our memory bench

The weather over the weekend was glorious. There was beautiful warm sunshine & a mellow stillness in the air that you only seem to get in Autumn. We thought we'd make the most of the weather & try to make a dent in the weeds on our plot. The more work we do now, the less back-breaking preparation will be needed in Spring. That's the plan anyway...

I blogged back in early September about our huge sunflowers. They are now way past their best. We wanted to clear the area so we can plant a green manure crop over the Winter. I have never seen sunflowers with such robust stalks. It was like felling trees. Our loaded wheelbarrow was destined for the communal compost heap, but a neighbouring plot holder asked if she could have the seed heads for her bird feeders. Nice to know nothing goes to waste on an allotment...
Magoo helped my Mum to dig up the last of the beetroot & load up the wheelbarrow with weeds. Magoo loves walking back & forth to the communal compost heap, she likes to look at all the other plots. She was particularly jealous of some huge pumpkins growing in a raised bed. They are on our 'to do' list for next Spring...would be great to carve our own homegrown pumpkins next Halloween.


Magoo took full advantage of the wooden bench we've recently installed on our plot. This particular bench is special to us because it came from my Granny's garden. My Gran grew up in a poor mining community in Wales & everyone was far too busy working to take pleasure from gardening. She then spent over forty years living in a first floor flat in Clifton in Bristol. So when my Gran moved to her bungalow in the early 1980s, she was overjoyed to finally have a garden. We would often sit on this bench at the end of her garden drinking tea & enjoying the sunshine. My Gran sadly passed away in late Decemeber 2014 & her bungalow has recently sold to a new owner. I was really keen to rehome the bench on our plot. So now when we want to take a break from weeding or digging, we can sit down & remember how much she loved gardening.

This week I'm linking up with:
Whatever the Weather over on monkeyandmouse.co.uk & www.lifeunexpected.co.uk
How Does Your Garden Grow #HDYGG over on mammasaurus.co.uk
Point + Shoot over on youbabymemummy.com and Snowing Indoors
Country Kids over on www.coombemill.com
Let Kids Be Kids over on letkidsbekids.co.uk

October on the allotment: parsnips, beetroot and more weeding

I blogged a few weeks ago about looking forward to eating our first ever homegrown parsnips. I planted some tiny plug plants back in May. We've been watering our parsnips & watching the root vegetables grow bigger. I really wanted to eat them on Christmas Day, but impatient as ever, I pulled one up the other day. Well, it's not going to win any prizes in a beauty contest...but then homegrown veg is about taste over aesthetics. Or that's what I'm telling myself anyway...


Magoo has worked her socks off helping out with watering over the Summer. Her favourite thing is to harvest the veg she has been lovingly pouring water over. We have had tons of beetroot this year. One of our favourite meals is 'pink mash'. You basically boil the beetroot with the skin on for about 20-25 minutes. You also boil some potatoes. Once the beetroot has cooked & cooled, you can easily pull the skin off. Then you grate the beetroot. Finally mash the beetroot into the potatoes with loads of creme fraiche, butter & seasoning. Magoo loves 'purple mash' with sausages from our local butcher & oodles of gravy.


The Russians call beetroot 'blood builder' and it is packed with amazing nutrients. I find the 'purple mash' recipe is a great way to get Magoo to eat beetroot. I also like to mix raw grated beetroot & carrot with a little oil, seasoning & some sesame seeds to make a simple dish to have with salad. Raw beetroot packs even more of a nutritional punch.
We've had a mild Autumn this year, so we've managed to spend quite a bit of time at the allotment. But it is getting to the time when the crops have been harvested and the beds are getting empty...and that's when the weeds take over! We've got to have a major Autumn tidy-up & then cover the soil for the Winter months. We have toyed with the idea of planting a green manure crop, but we haven't been organised enough this year.
That's the good thing about gardening & allotments - there's always next year to plan for.
This week I'm linking up with:
"How Does Your Garden Grow" over on the beautiful mammasaurus.co.uk

"Whatever the Weather" over on www.lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk
"Let Kids be Kids" over on letkidsbekids.co.uk
Country Kids over on the Coombemill Blog
Image of the Week over on www.trulymadlykids.co.uk

September on the allotment: super sunflowers and losing the battle against the weeds

Alongside vegetables and fruit crops, many people like to grow flowers on their allotment. Cut flowers from the supermarket can be expensive & often flown halfway around the world. It's nice to be able to cut a few flowers to take them home with your veg. My Mum had the great idea of growing a row of sunflowers on our plot so that we could cut them to have in a vase at home.

However, it didn't turn out quite as planned, we have had a couple small enough to put in a vase, but most of the sunflowers have grown to a massive size. The seed packet didn't say they were giant sunflowers, in fact the actual plants are pretty short, about hip-height, but the flower heads are huge!
It doesn't matter that we haven't been able to take many home to put in a vase because the bees have loved them. Vegetable crops can survive without pollinators, so we've been more than happy to see bees all over the sunflowers. Also, if you leave sunflower heads to dry, birds like to eat the seeds too. Spot the bee in the photo below!

Whatever the size, I love sunflowers. You can't help being cheered up by their sunny yellow petals. I also love the intricate pattern of the seeds in the flower head.



My Mum seems to think the sunflowers have grown so huge due to the volcanic ash she put into the soil last year. Whatever it is, the flowers and the vegetables have done well. But, so have the weeds. I always say that as long as we are getting more vegetables than weeds, then we're ok, but we're on the verge of losing the battle. This Summer has been really wet with burst of warm sunshine inbetween the downpours. Not great for camping or picnics in the Summer holidays, but the plants have loved it. We only need to turn our backs for a few days on our allotment plot and the weeds become rampant.
I think we need to have a major weeding session soon and then cover the unused parts of the plot for Winter. We do still have parsnips, purple sprouting and kale growing and they will stay in over the colder months. I can't wait to try my first ever home-grown parsnips, even if some of them look like curly ram's horns...which will make for an interesting time when I peel them.

I'm linking up with Country Kids over on www.coombemill.com, Whatever the Weather over on www.lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk, Point + Shoot over on youbabymemummy.com and www.snowingindoors.com, Image of the Week #IOTW over on www.trulymadlykids.co.uk and Let Kids be Kids over on letkidsbekids.co.uk.

I'm also linking up with How Does Your Garden Grow over on the beautiful mammasaurus.co.uk

A Year on the Allotment: February

This month on the allotment it's all about the digging. And the weeding.

The plot has been a bit neglected recently with illness in the family and my Mum breaking her arm.

It doesn't take long for weeds and grass to make inroads into the allotment.

There's only one way to prepare a plot and that's to dig it.

Luckily Mr. M is on a health drive and sees digging as part of his keep fit regime...which is lucky as there's tons of it to do.

We all pitched in, Magoo weeded the raised bed & I dug the flower section.

We went prepared with sandwiches, chocolate and crisps and ate a picnic in the sunshine.

There aren't many things that can top a hot cuppa from a flask. Simple pleasures.

We listened to the birds singing and waved at the people sitting on the trains passing by.

We peered at "massive" worms.

Magoo's use of the word "massive" has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

We also went to have a nose at the chickens on a neighbour's plot.

He kindly gave us three fresh eggs, which Magoo carried back to our home as if they were the crown jewels.

When we downed tools, we were dirty and tired, but we'd made some progress with preparing the plot.

I think three sets of muddy gloves and muddy boots are a sign of a day well spent...

I'm linking up with these lovely blogs Country Kids, #ordinarymoments over on www.mummydaddyandmemakesthree.co.uk, The Outdoor Play party over on http://mudmudmarvellousmud.com, #magicmoments on theoliversmadhouse.co.uk, Image of the Week #iotw www.trulymadlykids.co.uk, How Does Your Garden Grow over on www.mammasaurus.co.uk

Look what we've grown!

2013 has been the first year my daughter has wanted to take an interest in gardening. It's something I'm really keen for her to get involved with. It's such a fun activity to share. She's loved watching the process of making paper pots and using them to plant seeds in back in Spring. Then in April we started to see the first signs of Spring and our seeds started to germinate.

Fast forward to Autumn and we're enjoying homegrown tomatoes, beetroot, rosemary, thyme, chives, mint and a lovely crop of apples from the tree we inherited from the previous owner.

She also helped me grow borage to attract the bees, bright orange nasturtiums and huge sunflowers. I tried to choose plants with large seeds, so that her little fingers could get to grips with them.

By growing our own vegetables, I think it helps my daughter to try new flavours because she's been involved with the growing process. She loves grated cooked beetroot mashed into potatoes with creme fraiche, lots of butter and some salt and pepper for seasoning...we call it 'purple mash' and it's amazing with sausages, fresh greens and lots of gravy!

I'm celebrating being outside with my child, enjoying the Autumn sun and linking up with Country Kids from Coombe Mill